Mullane: Vigilante lawn nut stalks Westampton neighborhood

JD Mullane Columnist @jdmullane

Wednesday

May 15, 2019 at 9:00 AM

Holly Hills is on edge as the Code Enforcer causes tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

He calls himself the Code Enforcer and he stalks Holly Hills in Westampton in the wee hours, keying cars and flattening tires, then leaving snide handwritten notes that scold homeowners for their untidy lawns.

The vigilante has been at it for a year, but recently struck at least three houses, causing between $7,500 and $10,000 in damage, said police.

The neighborhood is on edge. Some residents are either installing home surveillance systems or considering a purchase.

“He first got us last September,” said Doug Taylor of Holly Lane, whose place has been struck twice by the phantom enforcer. “He hit my wife’s van, keyed it up a little bit.”

He was hit again in April and May, with his wife’s car scratched and the rear tire of his sister’s car flattened.

Last week, Westampton police released a still from a home surveillance camera that caught a likely suspect scratching the hood of a Cadillac SUV on Stratton Drive. The picture is shadowy, and appears to show a middle-aged man in his late fifties or early sixties with dark hair, possibly walking a small dog.

“Most of us saw the picture of the guy on the news, but none of us knows who it is,” said Rob Williams, who has lived on Holly Lane since 1967. With his manicured lawn and neatly tended gardens, he probably does not have to worry about inspiring the Code Enforcer’s ire.

“Whoever it is, the guy’s angry,” Taylor said.

The woman whose home surveillance video system captured the picture of the suspect that was distributed by the police said she can’t understand why her family has been targeted. Her lawn isn’t Augusta National, but it’s neat.

“It looks pretty much like everyone else’s,” she said.

This is the second time she has been vandalized, she said. Last year, all four tires on her Volkswagen were slashed and the culprit left a note about the condition of her yard. Replacing the tires cost $600, she said.

“Now he’s back. I guess he just won’t leave us alone,” she said. “That picture of him was taken at 4:20 in the morning, and I was up at that time, in my house. If I bring our cars into the garage so he can’t get them, what will he do next? Set my trash cans on fire? That’s what I’m thinking. It’s really kind of scary.”

The same vigilante struck her next door neighbor two weeks ago.

“This note was left that said my grass was too high and that things like that bring down property values. The note had bullet points: cut grass, trim yard, clean up grass clippings, trim my trees. I’ve been here ten years. This is a nice neighborhood. Things like this just don’t happen here. We really have no idea who it is.”

The police do, though.

Westampton Lt. Brian Ferguson said there is a suspect, based on fingerprint and handwriting analysis from the four notes the Code Enforcer has left behind. An arrest is likely.

“We’re just waiting for some stuff to get back from the lab,” he said.

Ferguson has been a cop for 17 years, but hasn’t had a case like this.

“Usually when there’s a neighbor complaint about grass, we just refer it to the real code officer, who takes care of things like that,” he said.

Without tire slashings or paint scratchings, either.

Columnist JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.

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